Onion prices were steady at Rs 40-50 a kg in the retail markets of all metros but Chennai where it soared by Rs 20 per kg, even as rates of tomato and garlic fell sharply in Kolkata and Mumbai.

Fall in arrival of supplies led to the sharp surge in onion prices in Chennai, traders said, pointing that against 10 lorries yesterday only three lorries arrived in the wholesale market there today.

Delhi too saw wholesale rate of onion increase by about Rs 3 a kg in Azadpur mandi, Asia's biggest wholesale market of fruits & vegetables, due to drop in arrivals owing to fog, but there was no pass through effect in retail prices.

The wholesale rate at Azadpur ruled at Rs 12-40 per kg.

Good news for households came from Kolkata and Mumbai where prices of tomato and garlic eased by up to Rs 15 per kg and up to Rs 100 a kg, respectively, today, although they remained unchanged in Delhi and Chennai at Rs 40-50/kg and Rs 250-300/kg respectively.

Besides a marginal rise in Delhi, wholesale rate of onion also rose in Pimpalgaon (by Rs 8/kg at Rs 46/kg) while it eased substantially (by Rs 16/kg at Rs 31/kg) in Lasalgaon (the largest onion market in the country).

"Some farmers in the area are unhappy over softening prices of the vegetable and hence are bringing less quantity to the purchasing centres," Gupta told PTI over phone.

Azadpur market-based Onion Merchants Association General Secretary Rajendra Sharma said: "There has been substantial fall in number of vehicles arriving in the market today from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh."

In the national capital, state-run outlets such as Nafed, Kendriya Bhandar and NCCF were selling the edible kitchen bulb at a concessional rate of Rs 35 a kg, while Mother Dairy was vending onions at Rs 40 per kg.

"Onion continues to sell at Rs 40 a kg from our outlets in Delhi today...

The rate is monitored on a daily basis after watching the price trend in the wholesale market," Mother Dairy spokesperson Neha Banerjee told PTI.

Meanwhile, a team of Agriculture ministry officials reached Nashik today to assess the extent of damage to the crop due to unseasonal rains in November-December this year, official sources said.

Onion had shot up to Rs 70-80 a kg in the last fortnight, prompting government to take urgent action including a ban on exports and abolition of import duty, while many state governments facilitated sale of onion at a concessional price.

As onion prices started easing following government intervention, prices of tomato and garlic had started surging.

A top agriculture ministry official said yesterday that there was no rationale behind the increase in rates of tomato and garlic, even though one could appreciate the spurt in onion on account of the damage to the crops due to rain.